Regulation by Design: How Airbnb Mobilizes Hosts to Shape Local Policy

Caterina Moschieri
IE Business School, Spain

Abstract:

This study examines whether and how the regulatory entrepreneurial efforts of sharing economy (SE) platforms may affect the approval of new regulations. Drawing on recent studies on regulatory entrepreneurship, we propose that their regulatory entrepreneurial efforts seek to (a) delay the timing of approval of new regulations and (b) influence the approval of more lenient (i.e., less restrictive) regulations. We focus specifically on the regulatory entrepreneurial efforts of one short-term rental platform—Airbnb—and construct a database of Airbnb listings in 10 major US citiesover the period 2014-2020 to analyze whether and how Airbnb’s actions influenced the timing and leniency of regulatory interventions in the short-term rental market. Overall, we found that the increase in the number of listings on the platform accelerates the approval and restrictiveness of new regulations. To counteract this trend, Airbnb has engaged in a series of regulatory entrepreneurial efforts—such as the creation of awards (i.e., Super Hosts Badges) and the creation of the Host Clubs—which have significantly delayed the approval of regulations. The results further reveal these same actions affect the leniency of the regulations differently: although their combined effect is the approval of more restrictive regulations, ultimately these regulations have proved beneficial for Airbnb, non-professional hosts, and customers.

Caterina Moschieri is an Associate Professor (tenured) at IE Business School in Madrid. Her teaching and research focus on Corporate and Competitive Strategy. Her research interests span from mergers and acquisitions to spin-offs to organizational design. Caterina holds a PhD in General Management, with a specialization in Strategy from IESE Business School, and graduate degree in economics from Bocconi University, Italy. She has been a visiting professor at Insead, LUISS, and Bocconi. Caterina’s research has been presented at several conferences and institutions around the world. Her work has been published in academic outlets, such as the Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of International Business Studies, the Journal of Management, the Journal of Management Studies, the Journal of World Business and more, and broader-audience outlets, such as the Sloan MIT Management Review, the Financial Times and Forbes. She collaborates with different companies and organizations around the world, in different capacities, such as the Saudi’s PIF, Leonardo, Saudi Teleco Company, BanColombia, Gruppo Tesya, and Endesa.  Her research has been featured or cited, and has received several awards and prizes, including national grants from the Canadian, the Portuguese and the Spanish governments. Caterina is co-editor of Strategic Organization, and sits on the editorial review board of the Journal of Management Studies, the Academy of Management Discoveries, The Global Strategy Journal, and the Academy of Management Perspective.  

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